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Massachusetts Privateer Sloop Wolfe |
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| Wolfe | Commander Nathaniel Freeman |
| Armed Sloop | 4 September 1776-30 September 1776 |
| Massachusetts Privateer Sloop |
| Commissioned/First Date: | 4 September 1776 |
| Out of Service/Cause: | 30 September 1776/captured by HM Frigate Unicorn |
| Owners: | Samuel Partridge, Samuel Doggett et al of Boston, Massachusetts |
| Tonnage: |
| Battery: | Date Reported: 30 September 1776 Number/Caliber Weight Broadside 10/ Total: 10 cannon/ Broadside: 5 cannon/ Swivels: |
| Crew: | 30 September 1776: 90 [total] |
| Description: |
| Officers: | (1) First Lieutenant Joseph Love, 4 September 1776-30 September 1776; (2) Second Lieutenant Joshua Winslow, 4 September 1776-30 September 1776; (3) Master James Baird, 4 September 1776-30 September 1776; (4) First Mate John Hunt, 4 September 1776-30 September 1776; (5) First Lieutenant of Marines Nathaniel Cook, 4 September 1776-30 September 1776; (6) Surgeon Joseph Lovit, 4 September 1776-30 September 1776 |
| Cruises: | (1) Boston, Massachusetts, to sea [10] September 1776-30 September 1776 |
| Prizes: | (1) Brig Hiram, [20] September 1776, with Massachusetts Privateer Brigantine Retaliation |
| Actions: |
Comments:
Massachusetts Privateer Sloop Wolfe (Commander Nathaniel Freeman) was commissioned on 4 September 1776.1 Her officers were First Lieutenant Joseph Loves,2 Second Lieutenant Joshua Winslow,3 Master James Baird, First Mate John Hunt, Surgeon Joseph Lovit, and First Lieutenant of Marines Nathaniel Cook.4 Sailing out of Boston, Wolfe carried a battery of ten guns, with ten swivel guns, and a crew of ninety men. Her $5000 Continental bond was signed by Freeman and by Samuel Daggett, Gustavus Fellows, Nehemiah Somes and Samuel Partridge, all of Boston.5
Wolfe got to sea soon after on her first cruise, to no good result. About 20 September 1776, Massachusetts Privateer Brigantine Retaliation (Commander Eleazer Giles) was sailing with the Wolfe. The two captured the 50-ton brigantine Hiram.6 She was libeled on 24 October, with her trial set for 19 November 1776.7
On 30 September Wolfe stumbled upon a convoy, escorted by HM Frigate Unicorn (Captain Charles Fielding), who quickly captured the sloop.8 The Wolfe was sent into New York, New York and was tried and condemned there in 1777.9 The crew was sent to New York, and twenty-five sailors and Marines, and the five officers, were sent aboard the Grand Duke of Russia and exchanged at Newport, Rhode Island, on 17 January 1777.10
1 NDAR, “Petition for Commission for Benjamin Warren as Commander of the Massachusetts Privateer Sloop Revenge,” VI, 674 and note; see Emmons, 168 and MASSRW 6:47
2 NDAR, “American Prisoners Exchanged at Rhode Island, VII, 984-985
3 MASSRW, 17:636
4 NDAR, “American Prisoners Exchanged at Rhode Island, VII, 984-985
5 Allen, Massachusetts Privateers of the Revolution, 327
6 The Independent Chronicle [Boston], Thursday, October 24, 1776
7 The Independent Chronicle [Boston], Thursday, October 24, 1776
8 NDAR, “Captain Charles Fielding, R.N., to Philip Stephens,” VI, 1439 and note
9 HCA 32/490/18/1-5
10 NDAR, “American Prisoners Exchanged at Rhode Island, VII, 984-985
| Posted 28 March 2011 |
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